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Induction loop system installed |
We are delighted to announce that an induction ‘loop’ system, which amplifies sound for users of hearing aids, has been installed within St. Olaf’s. We are grateful to Orkney Television Enterprise for providing and installing the equipment at what proved to be a most attractive cost. _____________________________________________________________________________
You may recall reading in an earlier update of our fund-raising initiative inspired by Jesus’s Parable of the Talents. Twenty-two members of the congregation were each given the sum of £10 from church funds and asked to seek to use it in an imaginative way so as to multiply the original sum. The response was overwhelming with the result that over £1,000 was raised. Deducting the original ‘stake’ of £220 the net gain is £910. Due to the fact that some of the participants are too modest to be identified (together with their money-making schemes) it is not possible to name the individuals involved. However, we remain extremely grateful for their efforts and dedication to the service of the Church. As a footnote, it is worth mentioning that whilst the scheme was designed to increase church funds, one member whose £10 stake was transformed into £200, donated half of that sum to the Bangladesh Flood Appeal – a gesture that was truly in keeping with the spirit of Jesus’s original teaching. The Vestry extends its heartfelt gratitude to all involved. Well done!
Having juggled for a number of years between two hymn books (The English Hymnal and New Hymns and Worship Songs ) it was decided to purchase new hymn books. At the same time, ideas were being mooted as to purchasing ‘pew Bibles’ so as to enable worshippers to follow the Common Worship Lectionary readings. The answer to both matters came in the form of Hymns Old and New - One Church One Faith One Lord published by Kevin Mayhew Ltd (http://www.kevinmayhew.com/). Not only does the hymnal include traditional ‘favourites’ but also features a number of contemporary worship songs, a number of which are the beautiful works of the Iona Community’s Wild Goose Worship Group. The added bonus with this book is the inclusion of the three-year cycle of Common Worship Lectionary readings, collects and post-communion prayers. The new book has been extremely well received and it is encouraging to see it being requested by some of our housebound and elderly members, making them feel even more at one with those who come to St. Olaf’s week after week. I would very much commend this delightful book (containing almost 800 hymns and songs) to congregations thinking of purchasing or acquiring new hymnals.
Early in May we received a visit from Jonathan Elliot-Jones, Provincial Mission Adviser to the Scottish Episcopal Church. Jonathan preached at the Sunday Eucharist, gently reminding us of our wider responsibilities in mission (something, in the midst of our minor woes, which we often tend to forget…). Later that day, he met with some members in the church hall where he provided an audio-visual presentation of some of his work in India and that carried out by USPG mission partners in South America and Africa. Being an island congregation, we are not always so readily accessible to visitors such as Jonathan with the result that we can (not merely in a geographic sense) become rather insular and consumed with our own internal affairs. Jonathan’s visit encouraged us to think on a global scale of how we live the Gospel in serving others and made me, for one, give thanks to God for just how fabulously rich we are living in modern Britain. It is hoped that as the year progresses, St. Olaf’s might engage with the work of USPG on a more tangible level. Anyone seeking further information about the work of USPG – Anglicans in World Mission, should log on to: www.uspg.org.uk
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